When you think about art, you might think of it as permanent. After all, that picture you drew in kindergarten might still hang on your refrigerator years later. And that sculpture you made of the dog that most people can’t identify? It’ll probably still be sitting on a shelf when you graduate from high school.

Not all works of art are permanent, though. Think about a Broadwayperformance. When it’s over, it’s over. Sure, it might live on in your memory or on film. But the live show was a special event. It was limited to one time and place.

Can you think of other forms of art that are temporary? If you’re a fan of the beach, sandcastles might come to mind. Have you ever spent hours with your pail and shovel building a beautiful sandcastle?

If you have, you probably were sad when it was time to leave the beach. Your work of art might last a few more hours. However, you knew it would be gone as soon as the tide came in. The sandy beach is a canvas that nature erases daily.

Most of the time, art made from sand can’t last long. Still, many people love using sand to create their own unique vision of beauty. One of the most mesmerizing types of sand art is sand animation.

Sand animation is a type of live performance art. Artists who work in sand animation use sand to make a set of images that usually tell a story. They often start with a large amount of sand on a flat surface, such as a table. They then use their hands and fingers to draw in the sand.

It might seem like using sand would limit the art you could make. However, the wide variety of beautiful and highly-detailed sand artworks might surprise you. Many of these works of art are very temporary. That’s where the animation part comes in.

Sand animation artists create a series of images that seem to move to tell a story. They might also use music and special lighting to complete the effect. Sometimes they take photographs or video of their creation throughout the process. Then, they turn it into a sand animation movie when it’s finished.

Sand animation has been around for decades. However, there are still rather few sand animation artists compared to other types of artists. Some of the most famous sand artists include Ferenc Cakó, Kseniya Simonova, Caroline Leaf, Ilana Yahav and Joe Castillo.

Adyson Lyons

Wonderopolis

jade

Isaiah

Apr 19, 2017

I like making a sand castle, then dig a hole that lead to the ocean/lake, so that water can run into the sand castle that way it can flood and turn into a disaster, or just let water run around the sand castle and make it where no ant-sized black knights can get through.

Hannah

Wonderopolis

Feb 21, 2013

WOW, how cool, Hannah! What an awesome connection to our sandy Wonder! Isn't it incredible to think about those statues were built? Lots of teamwork and creativity! Thanks for sharing your comment, Hannah! :)

kenzie

Wonderopolis

Jan 9, 2013

Great question, Kenzie! Lots of patience and practice is involved in our Wonder. We bet you can use your imagination and start with some stick figures, just to get the feel of sand art. Who knows where it will take you!? :)

Nate

Wonderopolis

Dec 11, 2012

Well thanks so much, Wonder Friend Nate! We can't take credit for all the videos-- we find them all over the Internet! We have lots of Wonder Friends who search and search for videos that make us think, smile... and Wonder of course! One of our favorites is Ormie-- it makes us smile every time we watch it! Wonder #766-- When Will Pigs Fly? https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/when-will-pigs-fly/ :)

Jake L.

Oct 19, 2012

Tomorrow is my birthday. I really love sand castles too but I can't really build one. The last time I tried to build a GOOD ONE I didn't do very good or my brother destroys the good one. Oh well. Happy birthday to me!!!!!

Wonderopolis

Oct 19, 2012

WOW, Happy Birthday to you, Wonder Friend Jake L.! :) In honor of your upcoming birthday, we bet you'd enjoy this celebration Wonder:
Wonder #366-- Why Do We Blow Out Birthday Candles? https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-we-blow-out-birthday-candles/ :)
We hope you can build a great sandcastle soon, but in the meantime, we bet you'll have a great time celebrating your birthday! :)

Hayley

Oct 12, 2012

Yes, I have heard about this. What's weird is that my teacher, Mrs.Ferguson, already today showed us videos about this when we got back from ace. Weird right?? I loved this video. OTHER PEOPLE NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!! ^.^

Wonderopolis

Oct 13, 2012

WOW, Hayley, great minds DO think alike! We are glad that you and your classmates have been WONDERing about cool sand art on your own! We think it would be cool to create different, large sculptures using sand-- how about you? Thanks for sharing your AWESOME comment, Wonder Friend! :)

shawn

Wonderopolis

Oct 3, 2012

Hi there Shawn, we hope you had a great time WONDERing about sand creations with us! We hope you will join us again for more WONDERing-- please comment about anything else that you learned, we'd love to hear about it! :)

jules

Sep 30, 2012

I learned that you truly remember the things that you did when you were younger. Also who wants to leave their master sand piece? Lastly I learned that not every master thing you make you can keep forever.

abby

Wonderopolis

Sep 30, 2012

COOL, Abby, we're so glad you enjoy our sand art Wonder! It's pretty neat to learn all about different types of art that you can create with sand! Who knew?! :)
We hope you have a SUPER day! Here's a Halloween Wonder from the past:
Wonder #393-- Why Do You Say Trick-Or-Treat? https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-you-say-trick-or-treat/ :)

Wonderopolis

alexis

Sep 29, 2012

Dear Wonderopolis,
MY GUESS WAS RIGHT!!!!! Today's wonder is facinating and cool. I never knew you could make an animation with sandcastles! I love to make sandcastles.
I think that tomorrow's wonder will be about parrots!